Reproducible detection of nigral iron deposition in 2 Parkinson's disease cohorts

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jason Langley, University of California Riverside; Naying He, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Daniel Huddleston, Emory University; Shengdi Chen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Fuhua Yan, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Bruce Crosson, Emory University; Stewart Factor, Emory University; Xiaoping Hu, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Liss
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mds.27608
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Movement Disorders
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 416
• End Page: 420
• Grant/Funding Information: The Emory MRI facility used in this study is supported in part by funding from a Shared Instrumentation Grant (S10) grant 1S10OD016413–01 to the Emory University Center for Systems Imaging Core.; Naying He receives funding from the Shanghai Sailing Program (18YF1414700).; Xiaoping Hu, Jason Langley, and Daniel Huddleston receive funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJF 10854). Recruitment of control individuals for this research was facilitated by the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NIH-NINDS P50-AG025688).; Fuhua Yan and Naying He receive funding from the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (17411952700).
• Keywords: Parkinson's disease; Clinical Neurology; Substantia nigra; substantia nigra pars compacta; Brain; Science & Technology; MRI; T1; Neurosciences & Neurology; iron; Diagnosis; Degeneration; Pathology; neuromelanin; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pathology; Health Sciences, Radiology; Biology, Neuroscience; Health Sciences, Rehabilitation and Therapy

Abstract

Background: Previous studies investigating nigral iron accumulation used T 2 or T 2 *-weighted contrasts to define the regions of interest (ROIs) in the substantia nigra with mixed results. Because these contrasts are not sensitive to neuromelanin, ROIs may have inadvertently missed the SNpc. An approach sensitive to neuromelanin should yield consistent results. We examine iron deposition in ROIs derived from neuromelanin-sensitive and T 2 *-weighted contrasts, respectively. Methods: T 1 -weighted and multiecho gradient echo imaging data were obtained in 2 cohorts. Multiecho gradient echo imaging data were analyzed using neuromelanin-sensitive SNpc ROIs as well as T 2 *-weighted SNr ROIs. Results: When compared with controls, significantly larger R 2 * values were seen in the SNpc of PD patients in both cohorts. Mean R 2 * values in the SNr of PD patients showed no consistency, with 1 cohort showing a small, statistically significant increase, whereas the other cohort exhibited no statistical difference. Conclusion: Mean R 2 * in the SNpc defined by neuromelanin-sensitive MRI is significantly increased in PD.